Citizens Advice has called for tighter licensing rules for new energy companies after finding an increasing number are delivering poor customer service.

The charity’s latest energy league table shows five new or smaller energy suppliers – Outfox The Market, Eversmart Energy, PFP Energy, Pure Planet and iSupply – all achieved an overall score of less than two out of five.

Citizens Advice said the ranking, which covers 99% of the market and assesses data from 35 firms, combined with recent supplier failures highlighted the need for Ofgem to tighten the rules on who can get a licence to supply energy. It is also calling on the regulator to crack down on poorly performing firms already in the market.

The star rating was also mentioned on BBC Breakfast, followed by an interview with Ofgem.

BBC spoke to Citizens Advice case study Paul Bailey who has switched energy supplier twice at his new home, and twice he has had trouble with his bills.

Having moved to a new supplier – Outfox the Market – he was left confused by a string of price changes. “Their customer service was all over the place,” said the 50-year-old, from East Sussex. “I don’t know who to trust with it all now.”

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We have seen too many companies who were completely unprepared to offer acceptable levels of service. A number of these have gone out of business in recent months, leaving customers worried, anxious and in some cases temporarily out of pocket.”

Brilliant Energy has become the latest UK energy supplier to fold in a further sign that many smaller providers are not equipped to cope with market volatility.

Brilliant, which supplied around 17,000 customers, ceased trading on Monday, becoming the third to do so this year and the 11th since January 2018 — not including a further four that quit the market last year through corporate transactions.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The failure of another supplier is a clear sign Ofgem needs to urgently move forward with its reforms to better monitor existing companies and take action earlier when problems arise.”

Gillian Guy provided comment for the Mail on Sunday explaining that Citizens Advice sees “hundreds of people every year who have lost money from being trapped in subscriptions they don’t want and find difficult to cancel.”

She continues that: “Laws surrounding subscriptions need to be reformed urgently to stop firms being able to take advantage of their customers.” and that the government needs to act urgently and companies responsibly.

She states that continuous payment authorities are a huge issue and the laws around these need to be tightened. Companies that offer free trials should also have to seek your permission before that trial ends and they begin charging you.

Personal Finance Editor, Jeff Prestridge thanks readers for getting in contact regarding continuous payment authorities. The Mail on Sunday makes demands for reforms and feels that they “would not be difficult to introduce,” continuing that “the only obstacle is one of intransigence on behalf of regulators, companies and banks.”

Citizens Advice, alongside other “consumer champions,” supports these demands. The article provides advice for consumers as well as a template letter they can use to send to companies using these practices.

The article provides advice for a pregnant woman who has recently been laid off. She suspects that she was fired due to being pregnant.

The column advises: “However long you’ve been employed, being fired because of pregnancy is automatically classed as unfair dismissal. Although your employer said you were being sacked for poor performance, you’re right to be suspicious. Ask for written reasons.”